Semiconductors

Lead frames are essential components in basic packaging processes of semiconductor components, such as integrated circuits (ICs). They serve as a mechanical support and electrical connection between the die and the external connections of a housing, and are often coated with complex multi-layer coatings, usually consisting of gold, palladium or nickel, each only a few nanometers thick. It is precisely the filigree nature of this lead carrier that makes measurements prone to error and complicates quality control.
Common multilayer system: Au/Pd/NiP/CuFe
Our polycapillary XRF devices are perfectly suited for measuring the coating thickness on very small structures, such as the individual leads of lead frames.

In semiconductor packaging technologies, they serve as basic contact points on a chip, e.g. to attach wires during wire bonding or solder bumps during flip chip packaging. Since landing pads are made of metals such as aluminum, copper or nickel, they are usually provided with protective or passivation coatings to prevent corrosion and metal diffusion.
Common multilayer system: Au/Pd/NiP/Cu/wafer substrate
Our XRF devices are successfully used to reliably measure the coating thicknesses of landing pads and their material composition.

Ball grid arrays (BGAs) are a type of housing for ICs and microprocessors used for mounting on PCBs. They offer a high density of connections, which are arranged as a microscopic matrix of solder balls underneath the housing.
Common material compositions: SnPb, SnAgCu
Measure the material composition of your BGA alloys, including their lead-free status, quickly and easily with our XRF devices and discover what high-precision quality inspection means!

High-quality under bump metallization (UBM) is crucial for the performance and reliability of flip chip connections. It is usually applied to metal pads to ensure better solderability and adhesion of the solder bumps later in the process. In addition, UBM forms a barrier layer against metal diffusion and thus improves the connection between chip and package.
Our XRF instruments are the ideal solution for reliable coating thickness measurement and material analysis of extremely thin and complex multilayer systems like Au/Ni/Ti/metal pad/wafer substrate, Au/Ni/Cu/Ti/metal pad/wafer substrate, or Pd/Ni/Cu/metal pad/wafer substrate.

In flip chip or advanced packaging processes, such as wafer-level, 2.5D and 3D packaging technologies, solder bumps, copper pillar bumps and gold bumps are used to connect chips to the substrate or to wafers on a substrate (CoWoS). For proper functionality and cost reasons, the exact material composition, especially the SnAg concentration, of the different types of bumps as well as the coating thickness play a major role.
With our high-end XRF instruments you precisely measure the material composition and height of solder bumps or copper pillar bumps, e.g. SnAg alloys or SnAg/Cu with Ag between 1 % and 3 %. In addition, you can measure the coating thickness of gold bumps, e.g. Au/Ni/Cu/UBM/metal pad/wafer substrate.

Redistribution layers (RDLs) are critical components of wafer-level packaging (WLP), especially in advanced technologies such as Wafer-Level Chip Scale Packaging (WLCSP). They are used to redistribute the connection positions of a chip so that they fit to a standardized layout for different packaging designs. As the conductive tracks in RDLs are mostly made of copper, thin layers of titanium, chrome or nickel are also applied to prevent copper diffusion into the insulating materials and to achieve better adhesion.
Common coating: Ti/Cu
Our XRF devices are used to analyze the material composition and to measure the coating thickness of RDLs.

Backside metallization is a key process step in high-power semiconductor and sensor manufacturing, e.g. MEMS sensors. By carefully selecting the layers and their combination sequence, the backside metallization can be optimally matched to the specific requirements of the respective semiconductor component in terms of electrical, mechanical and thermal properties.
Common multilayer system: Ag/Ni/Ti/Al/wafer substrate
With our XRF devices, you can precisely measure the thickness and composition of backside metallizations and ensure the quality of your coating process. Perfectly suited to your measuring task and tailored to your needs, we also offer customized solutions, e.g. our wafer chucks to measure thicker metal layers.

Pogo pins, or spring-loaded pins, are electrical connection mechanisms placed on wafers for wafer testing using probe cards. In this way, the electrical properties of the individual dies on a wafer are tested before they are cut into chips.
Common coating: Au/Ni/Cu alloys
In order to obtain absolutely reliable results in this testing process, the functional coatings of the pogo pins must be of high quality. This is where our XRF devices come into play.